Automatic switch



3' Sheets-Sheet 1.

Y EH W 08 00 CH m A0 T SU A m d 0 0 m Patented Aug. 20, 1895.

WITNESS s: fl.

(Nd Model.) 3 sheets-41185: 2.

S, A. GOONEY. AUTOMATIC swnron.

110.544.9631., i PatentedAug. 20, 189 s.

WITNESSES: 5 INVENITOR 2 Qt: BYZ

ATTORN EYQ (No Model.) a Shets-Sheefi 3.

S A. GOONEY. AUTOMATIC SWITCH.

Patented Aug. 20, 1895.

SEBERN A. OOONEY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO THE JOHNA. ROEBLINGS SONS COMPANY, OF TRENTON, NEW JERSEY.

AUTOMATIC SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 544,961, dated August20, 1895.

Application filed August 9. 1894 To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SEBERN A. COONEY, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica'residing in the city, county, and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Switches, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates,'genera1ly, to tram or rail ways and moreparticularly to the means 10 for automatically operating the switch insuch ways by the movement of the passing car or truck, as by its wheelor by some contactpiece carried by the car.

The present invention is particularly ap- [5 plicable to tramwayswherein the car or truck is drawn along the way in either or bothdirections by a cable and is to be directed onto a turn-out, switch, orbranch track, and the automatic devices constituting the invention areadapted to set the switch in advance of the car, so that not only is thecar properly guided onto the turn-out, switch, or branch track, but aclear space is left for the unobstructed movement of the connectionbetween the car and cable.

As a better understanding of the invention will be had from a detaileddescription of the same, such description will now be given, refencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a practicalembodiment of the invention in its preferred form.

In said drawings, Figure l is a diagram in plan of a tramway, consistingin the main of a single track provided intermediate of its length with aturn-outfor the passage of cars or trucks going, for instance, inopposite directions, the improvements being shown in connectiontherewith. Figs. 2 and 2 to gether show the automatic switch-operatingdevices in side elevation. Figs. 3 and 3 show the same devices in plan.Figs. 4 and 5 are diagrams showing the parts in changed positions.

Referring to Fig. 1, the improvements are shown in connection withasingle-track tramway A B, in which is interposed opposite the portion Bof the single track a turn-out B, with movable switch-tongues b b at oneend of the turn=out and movable switchtongues c c at the other end ofthe turn-out,

each of said two tongues being connected to Serial No. 519,900. (Nomodel.)

gether, so as to move in unison in one case by a bar b and in the othercase by a bar 0 These switch-tongues are so arranged that the tongues cand b are in alignment with the rail of the tramway to direct a cargoing in the direction of the arrows 2 onto the to rn-out B and thenceonto the straight track again, and the switch-tongues b and c arearranged when in alignment with the other rail of the 6:) tramway todirect a car going in the direction of the arrows 3 onto the turn-out Band then ontothe straight track again. With the tramway there isassociated a motor-cable 0, one portion of which moves in the directionof the arrows 3 and is guided by the pulleys cl to, along, and from thetrack portion B, and the other portion of which, moving in the directionof the arrows 2, is guided by pulleys e to, along, and from the turn-outB. As shown in Fig. 1, the switch-tongues o and b are set to guide thecar moving in the direction of the arrows 2 onto the turn-out B, andfrom said turn-out onto the straight portion of the track, and in thesepositions of the switchtongues the other switch-tongues o b occupy intheirinactive positions a point intermediate between the track-rails ofthe tramway, which will permit the unobstructed vertical movement of thecable or rope, which is then active in moving a car past theswitch-tongues onto and from the turn-out B. In like manner, as shown inFig. 4, when the switch tongueshave been moved to direct the car ontothe track portion B the idle tongue lying 8 intermediate between thetrack-rails forms no obstruction to the free vertical movement of thecable or rope, which is gripped to the car passing onto the trackportion B.

The means for setting the switch-tongues and at the same time movingthem out of the path of the cable consists of a pair of contactbars f g,arranged along parallel with one of the track-rails and preferably lyingin a recess cut in the outer side of the track-rail, so as to be inposition to be struck and operated by the car-wheel or othercontact-piece D, Fig. 2, of the car moving along the track. In thenormal position of the contactbars f g the barf extends above thesurface of the too track-rail, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 2,,and thebar 9 lies below the surface of the trackrail, as indicated by dottedlines in Fig. 2 so that when the car-wheel passes over the bar f saidbar will move downward level with the surface of the track-rail and thebar g will have been simultaneously raised above the surface of thetrack-rail.

The connections between each of the contact-bars and the switch-tonguesare prefer ahly all lever connections with the proper rigidconnecting-rods, so that the movements of each contact-bar will bepositively communicated with the switch-tongues and in sure their propermovement, and the arrangement is also such that all the strains on the Jarms and rods are tensile strains, in contradistinction to torsionalstrains. Each contact-bar, also, is arranged to move Vertically inparallel planes, and for this purpose the bar f is connected to the endsof two rockarms f f that are secured to horizontal rockshaftsf f mountedin suitable bearings that are supported in fixed position along thesides of the tramway. provided with vertically-arranged arms f which arejoined together by a'connectingrod f so that the rock-shafts and therockarms move in unison. The vertical arm f is somewhat longer than theother arm f and at its extreme end it is connected by a connecting-rodh, having an' adjusting turnbuckle intermediate of its length, with arockarm h mounted and fixed to the upper end of a vertical rock-shaft 71which rock-shaft is mounted in suitable bearings secured to a verticalpost h The lower end of the rock- 'shaft 7L2 carries an arm h which, bya rod W, is connected to the tie-bar 19 that couples the switch-tonguesb I) together.

Assuming that the parts stand in the position shown by dotted lines inFigs. 2 and 2, and that the switch-tongues b b occupy the position shownin Fig. 1 and the car is moving along the track in the direction of thearrows 3, the car-wheel D, or other suitable contact carried by the car,will meetand pass over the contact-barf and move it downwardly, and inso doing will have simultaneously rocked the arms f' and f f which,through the connecting-rod h, will have rocked the arms h and k in thedirection of the arrows t, and will have thereby moved the switchtonguesb b from the position shown in Fig. 1 into the position shown. in Fig.4, ready to direct the car from the track A onto the turnout B. Theother contact and co-operating bar 9 along the turn-out B occupies asimilar position with respect to the car-wheel or other contact D, andlike the contact-barf is connected to the ends of two rock-arms g gwhich are fast to rock-shafts g g, each of which rock-shafts have arms gg, connected by the connecting-bar g and the arm 9 longer than the arm 9is connected by a connecting-rod z" to the same rock-arm it that theconnecting-rod h is fast to, so that What ever movement is imparted bythe car-contact to the contact-bar f will be imparted to The rock-shaftsf f are the contact-bar g, such movement, however, of the contact-bar 9being in a direction the reverse of the movement of the bar f-that is tosay, that while the two bars in their normal condition occupy one an upposition above the track and the other a down position below the track,when the bar f is moved downward the motion communicated from said barto the bar 9 will be such as to raise the bar g. As soon as the car ison the turnout .8 and no part of that vehicle or the cars which may bein train therewith is on the switch-tongue the car-contact or wheel Dwill strike the contact-bar g and move it downward, which, through theconnections described, will cause the rock-arms h and 71 to rockbackward in the opposite direction to the arrows 4 and have moved theswitch-tongues back into the position shown in Fig. 1, and will at thesame time have raised the contact-bar f back to its raised positionready to be operated upon by the succeeding car, for a similar purposeas before. The switchtongues 19 b will have thus been set in position topermit the car on the turn out B moving in the opposite direction topass therefrom onto the straight track A. In the movement of theseswitch-tongues from the position shown in Fig. 1, where theswitch-tongue b overlies one limb or portion of the cable 0, saidswitch-tongue is moved to one side of the cable, so that there is a freepassage for said cable when moved vertically from its normal downposition under the strain of the approaching car to whichitis connected.Such movement of' the switchtongue may also leave a free passage for thecable-grip of the car passing onto the track portion B. On the return ofthe switch-tongues to their normal positions, as shown in Fig. 1, theswitch-tongue b is likewise moved from obstructing the other limb orportion of the cable 0, so that it is free to have vertical motion andthe passage of the car-grip will be unobstructed. The otherswitch-tonguescc also normally lie in the position so that theswitch-tongne a will aid in directing the car moving in the direction ofthe arrows 2 onto the turnout B, and hence it is necessary to providesimilar automatic switchmoving mechanism to move the switchtongues intoposition so as to direct the car from the track portion B onto thestraight portion of the track, and when on the straight portion of thetrack to return the switch-tongues to their normal position ready forthe return movement of the car onto the turn-out B. For this purpose theautomatic mechanism, including the contact-barsfand 9 previouslydescribed, are duplicated, one contact-barj, corresponding to the barf,being located along the track portion B and another contact-bar 7c,similar to the contact-bar 9, arranged beyond the switch-tongues c 0along the straight portion of the track. The construction and operationof these contact-barsj and 7c and their connections with theswitch-tongues c c are the same IIG as previously described in relationto the bars 7 f and g, and hence further detailed description thereof isunnecessary. It may be stated, however, that the car passing along thetrack portion B in' the direction of the arrows 3 will, through itscontact or wheel D, move the bar j downwardly, and will thus have rockedthe switch-tongues c 0' over from the position shown in Fig. 1 into aposition placing the tongue 0 in alignment with the rail of the straighttrack, so that the car is directed from the turn-out onto the straighttrack, and will at the same time have moved the tongue 0 to one side ofthat portion of the cable moving in the direction of the arrows 3, so asto leave an unobstructed space for its movement and it may be of thegrip. As soon as the car gets onto the straight portion of the track itscontact or wheel D meets the other contact-bar 7c and rocks theswitch-tongues back to their normal position, at the same time returningthe barj to its raised position ready to be met and operated by thecontact of the succeedin g car passing along the track portion B.

The dilferent movements of the switches or switch-tongues have occurredduring the movement of the car traveling in the direction of the arrows3, and such a car in mining or quarrying operations will preferably bethe loaded car traveling from the mine, tunnel, or shaft to the works ordump. The other car or cars moving in the opposite direction along thetrack, and usually light or empty, will have no service to perform, theswitches having returned to their normal positions ready to properlyguide such car onto the turn-out B, and thence onto the straight portionof the track.

The arrangement of switch-tongues described is peculiarly applicable toa tramway in which two turn-outs are interposed in a single line oftrack; but it is obvious that where the turn-out is simply a branchleading in another direction and not merging to the straight track againthat a different arrangement of switch-tongues maybe used, and hence itis to be understood that the invention is not limited to the use of twoswitch-tongues is it limited for use in a tramway employing amotor-cable.

What is claimed is 1. In an automatic cable railway switch, thecombination of a track, a turn-out or branch, a cable extending betweenthe rails of the track and of the turn-out, a movable switch tongueatthe junction of the track and turnout, situated at a higher level thanthe cable and movable over or away from over the same, and automaticmechanism whereby the car may remove the overlying tongue from overthecable to permit the passage of the car, substantially as set forth.

2. In an automatic cable railwayswitch, the combination of a singletrack, a turnout, a cable having both limbs extending between the railsof said track at each side of the turnout and opposite the latter havingone limb between the rails of the track and the other between the railsof the turnout, movable switch tongues at the ends of the turnoutsituated at a higher level than the cable and overlying one or the otherlimb of the cable, and automatic mechanism operated by the car andconnected with said tongues, whereby the car may remove the overlyingtongue from that limb of the cable with which the car is joined,substantially as set forth.

3. In an automatic cable railway switch-the combination with the maintrack and a turnout, of a cable having one limb extending between therails of the track and the other limb extending between the rails of aportion of the track and between the rails of said turnout, movableswitch tongues b b at the end of the turnout overlying one or the otherlimb of the cable, a connection as 71 below the cable and joined to saidtongues, and means whereby the car may operate said connection to exposethe cable, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence oftwowitnesses.

SEBERN A. COONEY.

Witnesses:

GEO. H. GRAHAM, W. H. GRAHAM.

